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Talyn
Talyn is the hybrid offspring of the biomechanoid Leviathan Moya and an on-and-off villain in the 1999 science-fiction television series Farscape. A perfect fusion of Peacekeeper gunship and Leviathan technologies, Talyn possesses the ability to carry and use weaponry, and was actually born armed with a powerful sonic ascendency cannon - along with an unpleasant desire to use his powers at the most inappropriate times; furthermore, he has ended up in the company of renegade Peacekeeper Captain Crais - and under his guidance, he may be more inclined to use force than ever before. As a sentient starship who cannot speak, Talyn's performance was conveyed entirely through CGI, sets, and animatronics created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Description As a hybrid, Talyn's appearance is a blend between the Leviathan and Peacekeeper aesthetics: he possesses the overall shape of a standard Leviathan, with his three nacelle-tentacles, vein-studded hull, and pod-shaped main body; however, his form doesn't appear quite as organic as his mother's, for where the hulls of normal Leviathans seem more akin to carapace, Talyn's seems more obviously metallic. Similarly, where others of his kind seem to be made entirely in one piece, his own body seems to have been divided into separate parts. In contrast to the earthy tones of Moya, his paintwork is distinctly modeled on Peacekeeper colors, with his body toned jet black and deep crimson; even his Starburst is tinted a fiery red. Large even by Leviathan standards, Talyn had not finished maturing by the end of his time on the show, and by then he was almost as big as Moya. During his stay aboard Scorpius' command carrier, he took up almost the entire hangar, dwarfing the personnel by several hundred meters. Likewise, his weapons systems had also grown substantially over his lifespan - especially his main cannon, much to Chiana's amusement. Inside Talyn, his passageways and cabins continue the fusion of Peacekeeper and Leviathan technology: everything is tinted a deep crimson hue, and often incorporates highly polished metal surfaces, in contrast to the worn, dull bronze fixtures of other Leviathans. The hallways feature organically-shaped plating like those of Moya, but are usually restricted to archways and lintels; internal passageways such as these are not the arched, curving tunnels common on other such vessels, instead seeming more reminiscent of corridors aboard a battleship, featuring straight lines, imposing bulkheads and fiery orange lighting. His cabins are much more compact and spartan than those of Moya, and at times appear limited to bunks set into the wall - though whether this is another sign of Talyn's gunship ancestry or simply because he hadn't finished maturing is never specified. His command deck is clearly modelled on the bridge of a Peacekeeper command carrier, featuring illuminated control panels and instrumentation not usually seen on Leviathan commands; along with the crimson paint job, this area is also distinguished by the internal turrets that deploy from the ceiling whenever Talyn or Crais feel the need to throw their weight around. Though he ostensibly does not need a symbiotic Pilot, Talyn does possess a rudimentary den where a Pilot could theoretically be implanted, though it remains vestigial and easily disposed of - comparable to an appendix in human beings. Because of its fusion of Leviathan and Peacekeeper, non-Pilot users can seize control of the ship via the den, allowing Stark influence over Talyn during the episode "Meltdown." History Conception Appropriately enough, the conflict and violence inherent to Talyn's life began long before he was born: he was conceived as part of a top-secret Peacekeeper breeding program intended to create a hybrid of Leviathan and gunship, possessed of the intelligence, adaptability and Starbursting powers of a Leviathan and the weaponry of a Peacekeeper's vessel. Such projects had been attempted in the past, but had always resulted in the death of both the mother and her hybrid offspring (later believed to be the result of the programs being conducted on Leviathans impaired by a control collar, and not free-flying specimens); nonetheless, in his attempts to fuel his ascent through the upper echelons of command, Captain Bialar Crais was willing to make an attempt of his own. He quickly located a female Leviathan named Moya already in Peacekeeper captivity; once it was clear that she was of breeding age and healthy enough to support a child, Crais had her anesthetized via the control collar and prepared to have Moya artificially impregnated with the specially-formulated hybrid DNA. However, Moya's Pilot objected strongly to the idea, and given that the Peacekeepers were relying on a Pilot's symbiotic management of the Leviathan's internal systems to ensure the project's success, they could not afford to act without her consent. So, on Crais' orders, chief scientist Lieutenant Velorek sought out another Pilot to replace her, eventually finding their substitute in the form of a young male who'd been rejected for bonding with a Leviathan by his elders. Once the replacement was secured, Velorek tried one last time to convince the old Pilot to cooperate - only for Captain Crais to have her shot dead by a firing squad. Once his predecessor's corpse had been removed, the new Pilot was hastily installed and connected with Moya, using artificial bonding techniques to allow him maximum control over the Leviathan's internal systems. During this time, Moya was finally inseminated with the hybrid genetic material, and once the refit was complete, she was allowed to awake from her coma - with the understanding that the new Pilot would be able to prevent her from resisting any further experimental procedures. Unknown to Captain Crais, Velorek was harboring a moral compass and feared that the project would kill Moya: in order to prevent the death of the Leviathan and the Pilot he had befriended, he secretly installed a contraceptive shield that prevented the hybrid offspring from gestating - essentially keeping its DNA in stasis indefinitely. Though Velorek's treason was eventually discovered with the help of Officer Aeryn Sun, the rogue Lieutenant never revealed where he'd hidden the contraceptive shield. With Moya now incapable of carrying any offspring to term and the technicians unable to locate Velorek's modifications, Crais was forced to abandon the project altogether for the time being. As such, Moya was reassigned to active service and all but forgotten about. Birth Some years later, Farscape chronologically begins with Moya - now operating as a transport for convicts en route to remote penal colonies - managing to escape from captivity thanks to the efforts of the three convicts she was transporting, who disable her control collar and allow her to Starburst away. In the process, she is also forced to welcome aboard series protagonist John Crichton, having been towed on board following his arrival in the Uncharted Territories, and Officer Aeryn Sun, who was accidentally caught in Moya's Starburst in her attempts to stop the Leviathan from escaping. Despite Captain Crais' best efforts to recapture the ship, Moya ultimately leaves Peacekeeper Space for the Uncharted Territories by the end of the pilot, unknowingly taking the results of his pet project with her. Halfway through the first season, the consequences of the long-forgotten breeding program finally come to light in the episode "They've Got A Secret." While sweeping Moya for dangerous modifications, Ka D'Argo stumbles upon the contraceptive shield hidden deep in the Leviathan's normally-inaccessible passageways; recognizing it as Peacekeeper in origin, he breaks it, and though the act almost results in D'Argo being ejected into space, it also results in Moya successfully beginning her pregnancy. Unfortunately, the lack of information on what happened leaves the Leviathan and her passengers at odds: the crew wants to learn what happened to D'Argo, while Moya wants to protect her developing offspring's existence at any and all costs - including sealing up the entrance to the passageway and spraying adhesive at anyone who gets too close. Believing that their ship is being affected by some "Peacekeeper virus," the crew attempt to investigate deeper, which Moya perceives as a potential threat to her baby; in her efforts to dissuade the crew, she goes so far as to render Pilot unconscious in an attempt to shut down internal life support, hoping the loss of fresh air will force her passengers to either cooperate or leave. When this doesn't work, she deploys her DRDs against the crew until Aeryn is able to shut them down from Pilot's den. Now convinced that Moya is under the influence of a terminal malfunction and means to kill them all, the crew believe the only way to save themselves is to sever her higher brain functions - effectively lobotomizing her. At the last minute, Crichton is sent in to investigate the passageway that D'Argo was investigating, and creeping through a heretofore undiscovered shaft into a central chamber, he discovers Moya's developing offspring. Shocked, he calls off the lobotomy and has the DRDs reactivated so they can continue caring for the fetus, allowing Moya to resolve the situation peacefully. Over the episodes that follow, Moya and her crew are forced to endure numerous difficulties as the pregnancy continues, most commonly in the form of hardware failures all over the ship. Unplanned Starbursts become common, resulting in the crew ending up in situations they wouldn't have otherwise encountered, including a run-in with Pa'u Tahleen's monastery in "Rhapsody In Blue," the accidental marooning of Crichton in "Jeremiah Crichton," and a collision with a Nebari ship crewed by Salis and Selto Durka in "Durka Returns" (though this one ends with Nebari political prisoner Chiana joining the crew). In "Through The Looking Glass," the stress grows so great that several crewmembers suggest trading Moya for a faster vessel, prompting the heavily-pregnant Leviathan to perform an unscheduled Starburst in a desperate attempt to prove that she's still reliable - only to end up getting stuck between dimensions, a predicament that could have ended in miscarriage and death if the crew hadn't been able to help her escape. During the final episodes of the first season, Aeryn is badly wounded during a confrontation with the virus-possessed Captain Larraq, forcing Crichton to infiltrate a heavily-guarded Peacekeeper Gammak base in order to steal medical supplies... only to end up getting captured by chief scientist Scorpius. As a result, D'Argo, Zhaan, and the slowly-recovering Aeryn venture down to the planet to rescue him, leaving Chiana and Rygel back on Moya. In their absence, Moya begins suffering contractions and goes into labor - despite predictions that she should have had enough time to Starburst to safety before reaching full term. With no way of escaping the system or calling for help, Pilot, Chiana and Rygel are forced to preside over an arduous and quite clearly abnormal birthing, one that only becomes more dangerous when Moya is forced to create a vacuum inside herself, requiring the two non-symbiotic crewmembers to hastily seek shelter before their atmosphere is vented into space. It's at this point that the baby Leviathan's gunship ancestry is finally discovered when the crew realizes that the newborn is covered in weapons. Unfortunately, because Moya's birthing vent wasn't built to deliver this kind of offspring, the baby can't be expelled from her body; worse still, upon realizing that he can't move, the child panics and begins charging his weapons to fire. Despite Chiana's best efforts to perform an improvised C-section, the baby won't budge and can't be placated; in the end, they decide to let him fire at low power - resulting in an explosion that fortunately results in only mild structural damage and allows Moya's son to be born at long last. Peacekeeper Tuition In the days that follow, the newborn Leviathan remains in close proximity to Moya at all times, too weak to fly free under his own power. As such, with both Crais and Scorpius now hunting for Crichton, Moya and her baby are forced to hide deep in an asteroid belt until the two are fit enough to escape. However, Moya has difficulty forming a connection with her child: by now, the gunship hybrid is now aware of the difference between his mother and himself, and this recognized disparity is upsetting him. So, when Crichton, D'Argo, and Zhaan are forced to leave in order to answer a distress call from a female broadcaster on one of the neighboring asteroids, Pilot and Moya enlist Aeryn's help in negotiating with the troubled infant, hoping that the former Peacekeeper might be able to help him understand what he is. The gunship forms an immediate rapport with Aeryn, responding to her voice almost as soon as she arrives on board, and even lowering his energy signature at her request in order to avoid the Peacekeeper scans; by the time she's finished with her initial visit, the infant Leviathan is once again communicating with his mother, and the two have managed to completely evade Crais' attempts at finding them. Moya is so grateful to Aeryn for helping, she gives her the honor of naming the child: the name ultimately chosen is Talyn, in memory of Aeryn's father. In the final episode of season one, "Family Ties," Rygel double-crosses the crew and surrenders to Scorpius with the intent of revealing their location in exchange for amnesty - though ater discovering what the military scientist intends to do to him, he returns some hours later with Crais in tow; with his crimes revealed to high command, the captain has been stripped of his authority and was facing execution, and was able to talk the Hynerian into taking him to Moya in exchange for his help in escaping. By now, Scorpius now knows where Moya and Talyn are hiding, and even the gunship's cannon won't do much good against a fully-armed command carrier; worse still, Talyn is still too young to starburst, leaving the two Leviathans cornered. With some help from Crais, Moya's crew are able to come up with a plan that should allow them to escape: D'Argo and Crichton will pilot a transport pod full of explosives and send it on a collision course with the Gammak base; recognizing both cargo and crew from scans, Scorpius will be unable to just shoot the transport down for fear of losing the priceless wormhole knowledge in Crichton's head, and will be forced to intercept them. While Scorpius gives chase, Moya and Talyn take the opportunity to flee the area, with the baby Leviathan piggybacking through Moya's own Starburst; Aeryn will remain in the area to retrieve Crichton and D'Argo when they bail out of the pod, and then rendezvous with Moya. Unfortunately, it is at this point that Crais makes his move: having already examined Moya's baby up close and likely recognized it as the end result of his long-abandoned pet project, the rogue captain sneaks aboard and works his own influence on the impressionable gunship, using Talyn's naivete and inexperience in order to manipulate him to his own ends. At the very moment, the two Leviathans are supposed to leave together, Crais orders Talyn to leave Moya's side and fly off into the asteroid field, where they will be safe from any pursuers. Unable to follow, Moya is browbeaten into leaving alone, and Starbursts away. Worse still, prowler patrols in the area force Aeryn away from the area, leaving D'Argo and Crichton floating helplessly in space. In the second season premiere, "Mind The Baby," Talyn is still hiding among the asteroid field. As it turns out, Crais' decision to hijack the young Leviathan wasn't the brightest idea under the circumstances: quite apart from the fact that he is still too young to Starburst and not strong enough to tackle a command carrier alone, Talyn is becoming more and more distraught the longer he remains separated from his mother, making him increasingly reluctant to obey his newfound captain's orders. Doubly unfortunately, Scorpius has hit upon the perfect means of luring the gunship hybrid out of hiding, namely by bombarding the asteroids with discordant signals, overloading Talyn's senses and almost forcing him to reveal himself in the ensuing panic attack. It is also revealed that in the intermission between seasons, Aeryn has been able to rescue Crichton and D'Argo and deposit them safely on a nearby asteroid - but only with help from Crais. In exchange for saving the lives of her friends, he asks for her help in calming Talyn down and convincing him to follow the captain's orders. For good measure, Crais is also trying to placate Scorpius by sending him secret communiques promising to deliver Crichton alive in exchange for amnesty. Needless to say, Crichton is not happy to hear of the bargain with Aeryn and goes so far as to board Talyn and capture Crais in spite of his internal defenses, dragging him back to Moya when she finally returns to the system. For a time it appears as though the two Leviathans will be permanently reunited. No sooner have they begun to discuss what will happen next, however, Scorpius chooses this moment to attack them head-on, intending to cripple the two vessels and retrieve Crichton. Already conflicted about Crais being imprisoned aboard Moya, the sight of the approaching command carrier leaves Talyn in a state of almost blind panic, and demands to be given a captain; when the crew naturally refuse to hand over Crais, Talyn readies his cannon and opens fire on his own mother. ''The warning shot alone destroys Moya's lone defense screen, and despite their reservations about letting Crais anywhere near the impressionable young Leviathan ever again, Aeryn agrees to join him aboard Talyn in order to serve as a better role model until the gunship no longer needs a captain at all. When Crais and Aeryn arrive on Talyn, the gunship offers Crais the Hand of Friendship, the highest honor he can bestow; accepting this gift, Crais is violently implanted with a sophisticated neural transponder, allowing him to share control over Talyn's systems in much the same manner as a Pilot. To Aeryn's continued shock, Crais declares that the gunship only requires one master and promptly orders her to leave. In a desperate attempt to dislodge him from his new position, Aeryn goes on the attack, trying to remove the transponder from Crais' implant, but thanks to his newfound control over Talyn's internal defences - combined with his own hand-to-hand combat experience, the captain easily overwhelm his opponent and forces her to leave for Moya. Then, pausing only to call Scorpius and falsely report that Crichton is dead, the Leviathan and his newfound captain Starburst away. Anger Management Issues For most of the second season, Talyn and Crais are absent, though Moya continues in her attempts to reunite with her wayward son - in between staying ahead of Scorpius and dealing with various secondary threats from within or without. However, the pair do make the occasional appearance - most of them brief at best. Firstly, in the episode "Out Of Their Minds," Moya is unexpectedly attacked by Halos-1 a damaged Halosian warship. In between dealing with the unexpected mind-swap caused by their malfunctioning defense screen, the crew eventually learn that the reason for this attack was because the crew of Halos-1, Tak, and Yoz, were assaulted by Talyn in the not-to-distant past, hence the damage the ship sustained. Though the crew fears that the gunship hybrid is being used for destructive ends, it turns out that the Halosians were not being entirely honest: Talyn and Crais didn't shoot first. Indeed, their first response to the sight of Halos-1 was to open hailing frequencies and offer reassurances that they meant no harm. But, as one of a highly aggressive species determined to achieve personal evolution through violence, Tak was eager to register as many confirmed kills as possible and launched an unprovoked attack on Talyn almost as soon as he got within firing range - only to be almost crippled by the riposte. As Crais later explains, it was all he could do to stop Talyn from destroying the entire warship in retaliation. Then, in "The Ugly Truth," Talyn unexpectedly reappears and invites Crichton, Aeryn, Zhaan, D'Argo and Stark aboard to discuss an important matter with Crais. While Moya reunites with her son, the captain removes his transponder and activates privacy mode so that Talyn can't hear what he has to say next, and reveals some very serious concerns about the Leviathan he's been bonded to. The gunship hybrid has been becoming increasingly aggressive in the last few months, easily provoked to violence and eager to take the most destructive options for dealing with problems. Worse still, despite his influence over the internal systems of the hot-headed young Leviathan, Crais has been unable to calm his bloodlust, and can barely convince him to fire only in self-defense. Even manual overrides don't always work as intended. As such, he needs help from Moya's crew in order to disarm Talyn by replacing his main cannon with a dampening net, intended to neutralize opponents while leaving their personnel unharmed. The only place they can buy such a weapon would be from a Plokavian arms dealer - a choice that prompts immediate consternation among the crew, given the Plokavians' unsavory reputation for building and trading in highly-destructive weaponry. The discussion comes to an end when the arms dealers arrive ahead of schedule. With privacy mode engaged and manual override active, Crais feels secure in discussing terms with the Plokavians even with the ship still conscious... only for Talyn to unexpectedly interrupt the conversation by opening fire on the merchant ship, destroying it instantly and killing everyone onboard. In the confusion that follows, the crew of Moya is forced to leave when Crais reactivates his transponder and kicks them out, Starbursting away just as the authorities arrive on the scene; unfortunately, the fleeing crewmembers can't outrun the Plokavian warship in time, and all five of them are arrested, accused of murder and put on trial. Throughout the interrogation that follows, the accused attempt to make their perspectives on the situation known, resulting in an extremely confused narrative: Aeryn and Zhaan insist that there must have been a weapons console malfunction; Stark accuses Crais of launching an unprovoked attack; D'Argo puts the blame squarely on on Stark; Crichton gives a much less-biased account of events, but still has no idea what really happened. It's not until after Stark takes the blame and allows himself to be executed by dispersion to save the rest of the crew that the truth is finally revealed: during an argument over dealing with the Plokavians, Stark tried to use the weapons console, prompting Crichton to hastily deactivate the manual override in order to stop him - only to end up accidentally restoring control to Talyn in the process. Recognizing that the merchant ship was carrying deadly Novatron gas, the gunship had perceived the cargo as a threat to Moya and shot without thinking. With the family separated once again, the "Liars, Guns And Money" trilogy features Moya being horribly burned in the aftermath of the resurrected Stark's botched attempt to rob a bank, courtesy of the booby trap the crew ended up stealing by mistake. With Scorpius holding D'Argo's son Jothee hostage at the Shadow Depository, D'Argo losing patience, Moya dying, the neural clone slowly taking over Crichton's brain, and nothing to pay the mercenary team of drug addicts, invalids, fugitives and pirates he hired for the rescue mission, Crichton surrenders to Scorpius. Aeryn insists on mounting a rescue, only to start a fight with the increasingly impatient mercenaries - one that's only resolved when Talyn unexpectedly arrives on the scene, drawn by Moya's distress call. While Moya receives vital transfusions from Talyn, Aeryn tries to persuade Crais to help rescue Crichton, only to be rebuffed when Crais refuses to give any more opportunities to indulge his violent tendencies - and promptly departs. However, when the Zenetan Pirates betray Moya's crew during the rescue mission, Talyn reappears and destroys the pirates' ship; for good measure, he bombards the depository with enough firepower to level the building and kill most of the Peacekeeper garrison, allowing Moya's crew to rescue Crichton and get away with an entire container full of riches in the process. In the final episode of the season, Talyn escorts Moya to an ice world home to a Diagnosan capable of treating her injuries. In between attempts to sweet-talk Aeryn into joining them, though, Crais and Talyn unexpectedly discover the neural clone has taken over Crichton's brain and is attempting to signal Scorpius from his module. Forbidden from attacking the possessed human, Talyn is forced to remain in orbit around the planet while Aeryn flies after Crichton in her prowler - only for the neural clone to launch a surprise attack that forces Aeryn to bail out - right over a frozen lake. With her ejector seat weighing her down and the seatbelt mechanism crushed, Aeryn drowns. In the season 3 premiere "Season Of Death," Crais and Talyn are still in mourning for Aeryn when they unexpectedly discover that Scorpius has arrived on the ice world in the hopes of retrieving his neural clone from Crichton's brain. As soon as he attempts to leave aboard a Marauder, Talyn closes in behind Scorpius and blasts him out of the sky; he then Starbursts away, satisfied with his revenge upon Aeryn's murderer. At the end of the episode, however, it turns out that the Marauder they shot down was just a decoy, and Scorpius is still alive. Furthermore, Zhaan is able to bring Aeryn back from the dead, sacrificing her life energy and condemning herself to a slow demise in the process. Neither the Leviathan gunship nor his captain are aware of this, and will not be so for several months. Green-Eyed Monster After another long absence, Talyn eventually reappears again in the episode "Eat Me," badly damaged and floating aimlessly in space. With Crichton, D'Argo, Chiana, and Jool currently dealing with the deranged scientist Kaarvok and his army of clones, Aeryn must once again venture aboard on her own to inspect the damage. It turns out that Talyn was overwhelmed by a vastly-superior ship and left with enough injuries to leave him effectively comatose; thanks to the symbiotic link between the two, Crais has been left unconscious as well, so no explanation for the disaster is forthcoming. Despite Rygel's protestations, Crais is taken back to Moya for medical attention, and Talyn is returned to Moya's care for the time being. In the following episode "Thanks For Sharing," the two regain consciousness as Moya's crew begin repairs on Talyn - and both are immediately shocked to discover Aeryn alive again, to say nothing of Zhaan's replacement and the John Crichton clone now aboard (courtesy of Kaarvok). Once he has recovered enough to begin assisting with the repair efforts, he finally reveals that Talyn was ambushed by a Peacekeeper vessel armed with an immobilizer cannon, an attack too intense for the biomechanoid hybrid to resist, and he barely managed to escape before losing consciousness. Aeryn realizes that Talyn is now the target of a Peacekeeper retrieval squad, sent by Central Command to capture the powerful gunship at any cost. Worse still, Crais reveals that the officer leading the squad is none other than Xhalax Sun, Aeryn's mother. On the planet of Kanvia, meanwhile, relationships with the locals soon break down: one of the Crichtons is badly wounded in a public assassination attempt, Talyn is almost poisoned by sabotaged medical supplies, and the son of the planetary governor ends up getting killed in the dispute over the poison. As a result, the planet's air force opens fire on the two Leviathans, forcing them to flee, and Talyn is once again separated from his mother. However, this time the crew has ended up divided neatly between the two ships: D'Argo, Chiana, Jool and one of the two Crichtons remain on Moya, while Aeryn, Rygel, Stark and the other Crichton are forced to escape with Crais aboard Talyn. With trust at an all-time low between Crichton and Crais, the episode "Green-Eyed Monster" reveals that the situation aboard the gunship is becoming increasingly tense as the two former enemies butt heads over matters on board - including their rivalry for Aeryn's affections, which only seems further exaggerated by the fact that Talyn's environmental controls begin heating up the room whenever Crais and Aeryn are alone together. More annoyingly, just about everything aboard Talyn seems to be doing its level best to drive Crichton insane: DRDs work loudly above his bunk at all hours of the night, showers dispense only freezing-cold water, doors refuse to open for him, and even his pulse pistol goes missing. The tension comes to a head when Talyn is unexpectedly swallowed by a massive interstellar monster known as a Budong, forcing the crew to grapple with the increasingly-panicked Leviathan in order to prevent him from doing anything rash before they can figure a way out. When Aeryn decides to share control over Talyn by accepting a neural transponder in order to help guide the young gunship through the crisis, Crichton is under the impression that she's chosen Crais over him - a belief that seems validated when he discovers a recording of her having sex with the renegade captain. Once again, however, it's revealed that Crais doesn't have as much control over the situation as initially suspected: when Talyn loses composure right in the middle of their newest attempt to escape the Budong's stomach, he is able to use his mental link to manipulate Crais like a puppet, forcing him to sabotage his own plan. Quite horrifically, this feedback also results in hideous boils and sores opening all over Crais' body, and Talyn uses this to torture him until Aeryn finally manages to knock the tantruming Leviathan unconscious. Soon after, Crichton finds himself trapped outside the gunship just as they prepare to escape the Budong, dooming him to a horrible death, and realizes that all the inexplicable malfunctions aboard have been ''Talyn's doing: determined to play matchmaker between his two surrogate parents and ensure that Crais and Aeryn serve as his pilots on a permanent basis, he regards Crichton as a threat to his plan, and has been doing everything he can to ruin the astronaut's life. Now with a means to get rid of him once and for all, Talyn is fully prepared to let Crichton die outside - right up until Aeryn disconnects her mental link with Talyn as punishment, refusing to even speak to him until he behaves, whereupon the defeated gunship reluctantly allows Crichton back indoors and escapes the Budong almost unscathed. Brain Damage In the episode "Relativity," Talyn is forced to seek shelter from the retrieval squad on a densely-forested planet, where the heavy gravity very quickly sends him into a deep sleep, while restorative vines immediately begin infesting the gunship's decks, aiding in the ship's regeneration but proving extremely annoying to the inhabitants. While Crichton, Aeryn, and Crais leave the ship to face off against Xhalax and her hunters, Talyn remains behind, with Stark and Rygel doing the best to keep the vines at bay. In the chaos of the ensuing gunfight, all participants are scattered across the surrounding jungle, leaving Aeryn to drag Xhalax back through the wilderness alone. Eventually, she is able to arrive safely aboard Talyn with the prisoner in tow; however, her mother proves even more driven than previously anticipated: having stashed a compact blade in her arm, Xhalax goes so far as to slice her wrist open with a fingernail to retrieve it, before going on the attack. With Aeryn, Stark and Rygel easily incapacitated and Talyn still sleeping, Xhalax is then able to enact the next stage of her plan: tearing into the Leviathan's command deck to access his mental circuitry, she begins destroying areas related to higher brain function, leaving Talyn trapped on manual override. With this in place, Xhalax can simply fly him back into Peacekeeper space, where techs are ready to repair him - and fit him with a control collar. Unable to escape her bonds, Aeryn can only look on helplessly as her mother slowly lobotomizes Talyn. It takes considerable effort on the part of the crew to overcome the remaining hunters and stop Xhalax before she can capture Crais as well, but eventually, they are able to keep her subdued long enough for Crais to execute her (in reality, he lets her go on the condition that she tell Central Command that her targets are both dead). In the aftermath of this run-in, Talyn is left almost brain-dead, forcing Crais to splice his mental engrams into the Leviathan in the hopes that he'll be able to think and act on his own again. Though Talyn is well enough to resume normal function by the next episode, "Meltdown" is no gentler to him or his badly-abused brain: drawn almost to his death by a siren star built to attract and destroy Leviathans, Talyn is only saved when Stark locates his vestigial Pilot's chamber and bonds himself with the gunship; in the long run, this only makes things worse when Stark begins frantically pursuing the spirit of a woman trapped around the star, driving Talyn onwards into the deadly heat of the sun in his attempts to find and rescue her. Even when they eventually escape this predicament and cut Stark out of the chamber, it's revealed that the Banik and the Leviathan exchanged a great many thoughts, and it's implied that Talyn might be even worse off for having shared his newly-regenerated mind with someone as demented as Stark. The "Infinite Possibilities" two-parter is even harder on Talyn: while on Dam-Ba-Da, Talyn makes the mistake of flying through a violent solar flare while rescuing the crew from a Charrid ambush, leaving both the gunship and Crais temporarily blinded. As such, the two of them are totally unprepared when the Scarran agent Alcor boards Talyn, and only Stark's wild improvisation manages to save Crais from being burned to death. With their eyesight being slow to return, Crais and Talyn can only eliminate Alcor by tricking him into accepting the Hand of Friendship: as soon as the neural transponder taps into Alcor's nervous system, Talyn is able to pinpoint his exact location and bombard him with enough turret fire to pierce even the Scarran's infamously tough hide. Once again, though, this victory has come at the cost of exposing Talyn to further trauma. Worse still, the Crichton traveling with Talyn dies from radiation exposure soon after, having used the last of his strength to destroy the Scarran dreadnought sent after them. A grief-stricken Aeryn travels to the planet Valdon to mourn, where she is continuously interrupted by Stark, Crais, Rygel, a man impersonating her father, and finally a very real and extremely vengeful Xhalax Sun. After Xhalax is finally killed once and for all by Crais, Stark leaves the crew, and Talyn is forced to continue on with both his mentors in an extremely distracted state - until at last, in the episode "Fractures," he finally reunites with Moya... along with the new batch of fugitives who have also joined the crew. Realizing that Scorpius cannot be allowed to continue his experiments in wormhole physics, the surviving Crichton proposes that the crews of the two Leviathans team up and stop him once and for all. To that end, Rygel and D'Argo agree to meet with Scorpius at an out-of-the-way diner on a relatively obscure planet in order to arrange Crichton's participation in the wormhole project - with the intention of bringing it down from the inside - while Moya and Talyn remain in orbit as backup. Madness and Death During the meeting, a hospital ship arrives to pick up Naj-Gil, the only surviving fugitive from the previous episode; however, Scorpius happens to order his two escort fighters to leave the area, prompting Talyn to open fire on the Peacekeeper ships in the belief that he's protecting Moya. Unfortunately, he doesn't stop there: as Crais, Pilot, Aeryn and Crichton watch in horror, as Talyn then turns his cannon on the defenseless hospital ship, destroying the entire vessel and killing all six hundred passengers. It soon becomes clear that Talyn is suffering from chronic paranoia and may very well be on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. Trauma suffered throughout his lifetime - the mindset imposed by his innate gunship physiology, childhood trauma, his flawed tutelage under Crais, the stress of being hunted down by the retrieval squad, the brain damage, being repaired with bits of Crais' mind, being bonded with Stark, and being bonded with a Scarran torturer - have all played a part in driving Talyn closer and closer to violent madness. In the wake of the disaster, the gunship lapses into shock as the extent of his actions becomes apparent, refusing to speak to Moya or even move under his own power. Though he eventually concedes that he made a mistake, the crew quickly realize they cannot allow this to continue any longer. Crushed by remorse, Crais quietly admits that the only solution is to have Talyn's mechanoid systems shut down, leaving his biologicals on life support until they can find a means of wiping his mind, allowing him a fresh start. Heartbroken, Moya reluctantly gives the crew her blessing, and Talyn agrees to let the crew board and carry out the necessary operation. At the last minute, however, he suffers another paranoia attack and once again opens fire on his own mother - and this time he doesn't bother with a warning shot. Shooting Moya three times at almost point-blank range, he leaves her alive but badly damaged. Against all odds, Crais and Aeryn are able to talk the deranged gunship into letting them aboard, and though he almost opens fire on them with his internal turrets, Aeryn manages to convince him to surrender. Bit by bit, Talyn permits them to shut down his necessary systems, until, after making a last request of Crais, he allows his captain to finally deactivate him. In the wake of the disaster, it's realized that the Peacekeepers are the only force equipped to wipe and replace his mind, and Crais agrees to follow Crichton to Scorpius' command carrier if it means that Talyn can be effectively treated. Initially, the project goes well, with Scorpius granting Talyn a place in the hangar and Crais access to experts on Leviathans - most prominently the captain's old flame, Lieutenant Larrell. Over time, the gunship's weapons are removed, and he is ready to begin his life anew just as soon as his mind can be wiped and restored. However, with Commandant Grayza demanding that Scorpius disband the wormhole project in the face of a treaty between the Peacekeepers and Scarrans, Scorpius doesn't remain so pleasant for long - until he goes to the trouble of directly threatening Earth in order to force Crichton to work with him. Realizing that Crichton's plan to destroy the command carrier won't work, Crais pretends to betray Moya's crew so as to lull Scorpius into a false sense of security; then, once he's revealed his plan to Crichton and Aeryn, he uses the distraction provided by Crichton's test-flight through a wormhole to sneak aboard Talyn and reactivate him. Now disarmed, Talyn can no longer attack his captors... but he is still dangerous, and though his mind is still in ruins, he still has the will to perform one last good deed in order to save his mother and his friends. Once Crais has delivered his final monologue to Scorpius, Talyn then powers up one final time - and Starbursts inside the hangar. With nowhere for the energies to go, the backlash destroys Talyn, kills Crais, but results in a chain reaction that results in the destruction of the command carrier and the wormhole project, allowing the troubled young Leviathan and his mentor to die as heroes. 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